Accidental Gods

As our world balances on the edge of transformation, how do we rewild ourselves and our inner cities?  How do we build communities of place and of purpose that work, that give us resilience, life, hope - and a deep, enduring, magical connection to the earth?  Jamie Quince-Starkey and Ross Nicholson of Down to Earth Derby describe the utterly inspiring work they are doing to achieve exactly this. 

Jamie Quince-Starkey has worked with planes, trains and automobiles, but he found himself most at at home in himself, and at peace with the world when he had his hands in the soil, growing thing to eat. 

Many of us might resonate with this, but Jamie took it a step further and set up Down to Earth Derby, a life-changing project that, as he says, "is an idea born out of conflict; the conflict of living life in the modern-day and the realisation of the negative impact we have on this planet. 
The challenge is making a difference whilst also being realistic and having an understanding of how life is for the average person; I know we can’t just jump ship and move to an off-grid community (imagine if the problem was that simple)!" 
It's not simple, and he was working full time and had recently become a dad, but even so, he set up the project and threw himself into its mission:
- to work for our communities empowering everyone to be part of making Derby a world leader in nature-based urban regeneration. 
 - to make living with nature a part of our everyday lives.
- to create a movement with the people of Derby through a series of nature-based engagement projects and promoting the new city social.
- to promote and contribute to a thriving sustainable-regenerative economy for everyone, making Derby a blueprint for world-class nature-based urban regeneration.

Jamie was mentored by Tim Smit of the Eden Project, who introduced him to another Derby resident, Ross Nicholson. Ross is co-founder of Neo, an international network of 15,000+ individuals and companies across over 100 countries across the sustainable futures space which 'makes vital human connections to get stuff done.' 

And getting stuff done is what Down to Earth Derby is all about - this is about creating real change in a real city for real people, working on real regenerative principles.   It's an idea that's evolving in real time and is replicable anywhere in the world.  Making change from the ground up and the inside out. "DTE Derby is about growing people, connecting with nature and the importance of creating community."

If you enjoy this, check them out - and see what you can do in your local community. 

Down to Earth Derby
https://www.dtederby.org

Eden Project
https://www.edenproject.com

Ross Nicholson's website
https://neojourneys.io

Tim Gill Book
https://uk.bookshop.org/books/urban-playground-how-child-friendly-planning-and-design-can-save-cities/9781859469293

What is Accidental Gods ?

Another World is still Possible. The old system was never fit for purpose and now it has gone- and it's never coming back.

We have the power of gods to destroy our home. But we also have the chance to become something we cannot yet imagine,
and by doing so, lay the foundations for a future we would be proud to leave to the generations yet unborn.

What happens if we commit to a world based on generative values: compassion, courage, integrity?

What happens if we let go of the race for meaningless money and commit instead to the things that matter: clean air, clean water, clean soil - and clean, clear, courageous connections between all parts of ourselves (so we have to do the inner work of healing individually and collectively), between ourselves and each other (so we have to do the outer work of relearning how to build generative communities) and between ourselves and the Web of Life (so we have to reclaim our birthright as conscious nodes in the web of life)?

We can do this - and every week on Accidental Gods we speak with the people who are living this world into being. We have all the answers, we just (so far) lack the visions and collective will to weave them into a future that works. We can make this happen. We will. Join us.

Accidental Gods is a podcast and membership program devoted to exploring the ways we can create a future that we would be proud to leave to the generations yet to come.

If we're going to emerge into a just, equitable - and above all regenerative - future, we need to get to know the people who are already living, working, thinking and believing at the leading edge of inter-becoming transformation.
Accidental Gods exists to bring these voices to the world so that we can work together to lay the foundations of a world we'd be proud to leave to the generations that come after us.
We have the choice now - we can choose to transform…or we can face the chaos of a failing system.
Our Choice. Our Chance. Our Future.

Find the membership and the podcast pages here: https://accidentalgods.life
Find Manda's Thrutopian novel, Any Human Power here: https://mandascott.co.uk
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